Blue Devils get tough road win

Old Forge packed its defensive bags when it went on the road to take on District 11 Class 1A Notre Dame East Stroudsburg in a 40-33 win over the Spartans on Wednesday afternoon.

The Blue Devils held NDES to just three field goals during the first three quarters as it held 6-foot-7 senior Tim Mullen to just six points during the first 24 minutes of action as its 2-3 defense kept him surrounded.

Old Forge (3-2) took a 26-14 lead into the final quarter as Dom Avvisato and Tony Goodall combined for 21 points during the first three quarters.

After trailing 4-0 to start the game, Old Forge went on an 8-2 spurt as Goodall scored five in the first quarter to give the Blue Devils am 8-6 lead.

The Spartans responded with two free throws to begin the second quarter, but Old Forge ran off 11 consecutive points to go ahead 19-8 with 3:36 left in the first half.

NDES scored the final four points of the second quarter to cut the Blue Devils halftime advantage to 19-12.

A 7-2 run in the third put Old Forge in control, but Mullen got loose in the fourth to make things interesting down the stretch.

The Marywood University recruit scored 11 points during a 19-point fourth quarter for the Spartans as the Blue Devils began showing signs of fatigue after playing two games in less than 24 hours.

Old Forge opened its lead to 31-21 with 2:37 left in the game, but Mullen scored nine straight for NDES to get within 34-30 with 45 seconds left.

Mario Martinelli drilled four free throws down the stretch to keep the Spartans at bay, and preserve the Old Forge win.

Goodall led the Blue Devils with 14 points, and Avvisato added 13 points and 14 rebounds. Mike Avvisato chipped in with six points.

The Old Forge JVs won 49-35 as J Argonish, Dave Argust and Bill Nocera each scored nine.

The Blue Devils will open the Wyoming Area Holiday Hoops Tournament on Monday at 6 p.m. against Dallas. A win would put Old Forge in the title game on Wednesday against the Wyoming Area-Northwest winner at 7:30 p.m. Old Forge will also play on Saturday at home against Western Wayne at 1 p.m. in a makeup game from last Saturday.

OF 29, West Scranton 41

The Blue Devils offense struggled against a bigger, stronger West Scranton team in a 41-29 loss to the Invaders on Tuesday night in the Elio Ghigiarelli Gymnasium at Old Forge High School.

Old Forge managed to get off just 21 shots against a swarming West defense that forced 21 Blue Devils turnovers.

Despite struggling to get to the basket, the Blue Devils trailed just 18-13 at the half after playing some great defense of its own.

Old Forge held the Invaders without a field goal for a span of seven minutes between the first and second quarters. During that time, the Blue Devils went on an 11-2 run to take a 13-10 lead with 6:12 remaining in the first half.

West got its first field goal of the quarter on a triple by Ethan Dunn with 3:28 showing on the clock. The Invaders then scored the next five points to take the halftime lead.